You know, even though I am not a fan of the present government, I really hope there isn’t an election this fall. I’ve gotten so dismayed by all of the major parties’ platforms and performance, that I’m just cynical enough to think that this minority government situation is a good thing.
They complain that they can’t get anything accomplished with a minority government, but given what any of them want to accomplish, I’d say that’s just fine.
Not a constructive attitude, I know, since there certainly are things that need doing. And electoral apathy in Canada is just huge now, and has been increasingly so for some decades. People don’t trust the government, or have any faith that those folks on The Hill are there to do what’s best for the country as opposed to what’s best for their friends or their own pockets. Public service has degenerated into self-service.
The only light I see at the end of this tunnel is the Green Party. They are, as far as I know, the only political party other than the Communist brands to be present in multiple countries. Elizabeth May, the Canadian leader, has extensive political experience. And they are the only party that seems to have a sound economic policy combined with an innovative environmental policy.
They are not NDP Light, as so many people seem to think. I had always liked that the NDP’s hearts were in the right place, but somehow, their economic policies not only left much to be desired, but also left whatever level and place they took the helm in bad shape financially. But all of the governments seem to do that now.
What’s really bugging me these days, and even since before the last federal election, is the refusal of the ruling committee to allow the Greens to participate in the formal debates. They set up a law that says that a party has to get 10% of the popular vote in an election, and then they can take part. That’s fine – you can’t have a debate with innumerable people who represent nothing that more than themselves or one or two others are interested in or agree with. That happened with the Green Party two elections ago, and they’re still refusing to let them take part. This is unconscionable – and illegal, by their own rules. What’s up with this?
And you know, while I’m at it, I really have to address the concept of vote splitting. That’s what it’s called when folks try and convince you not to vote your conscience when you’re in favour of a small party, since the votes taken by those voting that way may allow the worst of the big, bad guys to gain power by taking votes from the lesser bad guy.
I’d like to point out two things about that. The first is that until people start voting their conscience and giving the smaller parties growing clout – and it will grow, since they’ll get more press, and more ‘followers’ will feel comfortable voting that way too – nothing is going to change. The big bad parties will feel increasingly smug about the lack of opposition to their flawed leadership (and that word’s a joke in this context!) and will continue to do as they please without reference to either the good of the country, the world or the people. But the most important thing, in the long run, is that voting your conscience makes a statement that will be heard increasingly throughout your network and others will begin, I hope, to see that there is a chance to change things if only we’ll stand up and be counted. Someone has to start, and if it means that for this time the wrong party gets elected, well then at least eventually there’ll be a chance for the right party to get elected. If no-one starts, it’ll never happen, so I might as well be one of those who starts – and maybe you, too.
With only about 30% of the population voting, it’s too easy for governments in all first world countries to discount the voter entirely, and govern only for the benefit of their own small cadre and to let malfeasance, dishonest and unethical behaviour slip by with only a “tsk, tsk, you shouldn’t have let yourself get caught”. And we’re seeing more and more of that. Members of government working hand-in-hand with big business, passing laws that are unfavourable to the general population, but get them cushy jobs with salaries that would support a small third-world nation when they decide to retire from government.
When I hear stories from new Canadian friends about those who are fighting and dieing in their home countries for the right to vote and have some say in government, I wonder when, how, and why we here let it get so far away from us. This is supposed to be a participatory democracy – so for Pete’s sake, participate!!
There’s a saying that you get the government you deserve, but what’s sad is that the small percentage that are working to try and better the condition of all have to sit and suffer through the governments that the majority have deserved for their lack of caring.
I know that when you take “The Government” as a whole, it’s enormously overwhelming, and it’s easy to think that you can’t do anything to change things. But you can!! If everyone did just one small thing to help their party, or even to educate themselves about one or two of the major issues and figure out which party really represented their thought on those issues and could be trusted to follow through, it would make a remarkable difference. And that difference would grow exponentially over time to influence some large changes. And if we let our elected representatives know that we are watching them, and their performance, and expect them to be working towards our best interests, that too, would make a huge difference.
Let’s pull up our socks, Canada! Get involved! It’s your life.
